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The seats are filling up in the media theatre at Manchester City’s training ground. We shall see how much Enzo Maresca is willing or able to talk about the club’s guilty verdict. As usual, it is the head coach who must front up to the press about club issues instead of those higher up.
Maresca has arrived …
European FAs pushing for three-week international break to be abandoned
Nick Ames
Europe’s football associations have raised serious concerns about the impact of the extended international break and will ask Uefa to push for a reversion to the previous scheduling.
The new three-week break left European countries tasked with four Nations League games, which typically took place within 11 days. It has brought deep misgivings about player workload, injuries and financial viability, with one FA president telling the Guardian it was “a disaster” and numerous others saying the schedule is unworkable.
Football Weekly: You can watch/listen to the pod squad discuss Sunday’s clash between Liverpool and Manchester City, plus much more, in the latest episode.
A reminder that Enzo Maresca will face the media in 20 minutes’ time at the Etihad Campus in Manchester. You can follow the press conference live here.
Big interview: Oliver Glasner has told Ben Fisher he has “two hearts” beating inside his chest as he prepares to take his Nottingham Forest team to face former club Crystal Palace on Sunday.
When Glasner left Palace at the end of last season, he raised a few eyebrows by turning up at Forest. Relations between the two clubs have been tense since Forest took Palace’s place in the Europa League last season after they complained to Uefa about a breach of its multi-ownership rules.
It was not a decision against Crystal Palace, because I decided last October, one year ago, not to sign a new contract. It was then, in the summer, a decision for Nottingham Forest, due to different reasons. Sometimes unexpected things happen in life … there was no plan for me to be Forest manager.
What do Man City fans actually think? The Guardian has spoken to a handful on either side of the Atlantic.
Whatever happens, nobody can take the last 15 years away from us. We lived every moment: Agüero in 2012, the centurions, the treble, Istanbul. Those memories are ours and no verdict changes that. Right now I just feel confused – Ben, season ticket holder
I can’t give those memories back. But I do know that the richest people in the world thinking that the rules don’t apply to them, that they can cheat and then arrogantly chuck endless money at the situation, has nothing to do with what I love about football, nothing to do with what I love about Manchester, nothing to do with what I love about my club … I’m really sad – James, fan for more than 40 years
The severity and duration of City’s offences warrant significant punishment, but the verdict that it took this much sustained rule-breaking and money to prevent United, Arsenal and Liverpool adding to their own trophy cabinets is an indictment on the Premier League – Jon, fan in Washington DC
“I have titles but I don’t have them hanging on my wall. I have them in my head,” said Coventry manager Frank Lampard, who spent one season at Manchester City in 2014-15, during his press conference yesterday.
“Most players that have played and competed against the best players have worked very hard to win. I think it would be very hard to take someone’s title away as a player individually as I think they should be in your head as opposed to in this beautiful glass cabinet or whatever.
“I’m not inside the story, I’m outside it completely – I played for Man City a long time ago, for one year – so we’ll wait and see what the result of the appeal is.”
Lampard’s Coventry, who picked up their first win of the season against Nottingham Forest three weeks ago, host Newcastle on Monday night.
Kompany ‘proud of everything we achieved on pitch’ at City
Former Manchester City captain and now Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany has been speaking to the media in Germany this morning.
I played 11 years for the club, I loved all the years I played for the club and all we achieved and did on the pitch, that is something I am really proud of.
Everything else, as a player, you are not a part of that. As a coach of Bayern Munich, I am not actually too much occupied with that topic as much as preparing for the game we have to win tomorrow.
“Khaldoon says he would rather spend £30m on the 50 best lawyers in the world and sue Uefa for the next ten years than agree a financial penalty.”
Rob Draper looks at the words of Manchester City’s lawyer Simon Cliff as he profiles the club’s chair, Khaldoon al-Mubarak – the man who has dictated the aggressive, confrontational stance City have taken with football authorities.
Before facing the national media for the first time since Manchester City’s guilty verdict this morning, Enzo Maresca has given an in-house interview with the club’s media. There are plenty of references to “the noise” following City at the moment but Maresca was keen to insist his players will not be distracted by it.
“The feeling is fantastic, to be honest,” said Maresca. “The players are excited for the next two games. But especially they are excited because in this moment we are top of the league. The players are just focused on that. They know what we can control is the football side – they are not worried at all about different things.
“They know their profession and they know that the noise is there but they don’t care too much about the noise. They are just focused in this moment on how we can beat Liverpool and how, together with the fans, we can try to win in Anfield.”
Everton owner exploring sale of club after two years
First, the breaking news coming out of Merseyside this morning is that The Friedkin Group are exploring the sale of their controlling interest in Everton. The group completed its takeover from Farhad Moshiri in December 2024 and have overseen the men’s team’s move from Goodison Park to Hill Dickinson Stadium.
“The time is right to consider the next chapter for Everton,” said a club statement. “We will only entertain interest from parties who we strongly believe will be the right stewards to take the club forward and build on the momentum that has been established.”
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the weekend football countdown as the Premier League returns after an international break overshadowed by the guilty verdict handed to Manchester City on over 100 financial rules breaches. City, who are appealing the verdict, have sought to put on a united front, with Erling Haaland saying yesterday that the club “have to stick together” as they return to action on Sunday at Anfield. All eyes will be on Enzo Maresca at 10.30am (BST) as he faces the media for the first time since news of the verdict.
Other press conferences to look out for today are Andoni Iraola, whose Liverpool side host City this weekend, and Mikel Arteta, the former City assistant coach who has signed a new contract as manager of champions Arsenal this week. We’ll also build up to the weekend’s other Premier League games, including Manchester United’s clash with winless Tottenham at Old Trafford, and an EFL fixture list that includes Sunday’s south-coast derby between Southampton and Portsmouth. Tonda Eckert has this week been handed a six-week suspended ban for his part in the Spygate scandal.
England Women are in action at 5.30pm today as the European playoffs for next summer’s World Cup get under way. The Lionesses must progress past Greece and Slovakia/Ukraine to secure their place at the finals in Brazil. Ella Toone has returned to the squad as a late call-up for today’s first leg in Greece. Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are also in the hunt.
Don’t forget you can get in touch throughout the day with your thoughts via email.
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